German homeowners’ group blames Berlin for climate-policy shortfalls
A leading German homeowners' association has blamed Berlin after studies showed the Government is missing its targets on building renovation as part of its climate-control…
Energy and climate
Latest reporting and analysis on energy and climate.
EU gives coffee exporter Uganda €40 million to help it comply with forest policy
The EU has given Uganda a 40 million euro grant to help Africa's largest coffee exporter comply with a new EU policy that bars imports of commodities whose production…
For domestic housing, Germany lags well behind ‘green’ renovation goals
Germany is missing targets regarding the climate and the renovation of residential buildings, despite Berlin’s ambitious goals. Just 0.
EC ‘spreading misinformation’ over Bulgaria gas controversy, MEP claims
An MEP has accused the European Commission of spreading misinformation concerning an ongoing gas scandal in Bulgaria.
Ahead of Olympics, France unveils new Paris travel rules
France has unveiled a system of compulsory QR-code passes for travel throughout Paris, with the new system reportedly being implemented to reduce the threat of terrorism…
EU behind China on climate change, as Hoekstra admits it will miss 2030 climate targets
China has overtaken the EU in actually rolling-out clean technologies, researchers say.
Chinese solar firms hit by EU probes in new test of subsidy law
The European Union started probes into bids by Chinese firms for a Romanian solar park, in the latest test of a freshly minted law aimed at preventing state-funded…
Botswana President threatens to send 20,000 elephants to Germany amid Berlin’s anti-hunting push
The President of Botswana is threatening to send 20,000 elephants to Germany.
Eneco pulls back from massive Dutch offshore wind farms, criticising government policy
What should have been one of the Netherlands' most prestigious green projects has now become a painful loss for the Dutch government.
Denmark’s proposed carbon tax likely to anger farmers and spur coalition turmoil
Denmark's government aims to be the second in the world -- after New Zealand -- to officially set a carbon tax.
Russia struggles to collect oil payments as China, UAE, Turkey raise bank scrutiny
Russian oil firms face delays of up to several months to be paid for crude and fuel as banks in China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) become more wary…
Profits not prices drive renewable development, new book says
In his new book The Price is Wrong: Why Capitalism Won't Save the Planet, Brett Christophers argues there’s a widespread misconception about what’s needed…
EC drops agriculture from climate change plan after farmers’ protests
The threat of renewed protests by farmers will cloud any EU attempts to set climate policy, while "pushback from the agriculture sector will further undermine efforts…
Real estate investors turn to lawyers after ‘huge’ CO2 shock
Real estate investors already battered by high-interest rates now face the prospect of significant writedowns triggered by new European regulations.
Ukraine switches off power exports as Russian attacks hit home
Amid a continued Russian bombardment on Ukraine's energy infrastructure that has seen its top power producer DTEK lose 50 per cent of its capacity, Kyiv sharply…
Russian oil terminals ‘legitimate targets’, Kyiv insists
Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration, said Russian oil refineries were legitimate targets for its forces.
US wants Ukraine to stop hitting Russian oil refineries
The US has urged Ukraine to halt strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, warning that drone strikes risk provoking retaliation and driving up global…
EU chiefs fire-up call for renewed nuclear-energy development
Leaders from pro-nuclear European Union countries and energy experts called for a nuclear energy revival at a summit in Brussels, seeking to rebuild the European…
Belgium: What drives the electorate in the South?
In June, Belgium will take part in European Parliament, national and regional elections at the same time, with municipal votes following a few months later.
EC U-turns on ‘green’ rules after farmers’ protests
Brussels is selling the changes as an attempt to streamline the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) by cutting red tape
Dutch supermarket chain stops promotions on meat, to push ‘protein transition’
Dutch supermarket chain Jumbo will no longer offer promotions on its meat products, to encourage customers to eat "plant-based" food instead.
MEPs back new vehicle brake-emissions rules
MEPs have voted in favour of regulating vehicle-brakes’ environmental emissions as part of a new swathe of “green” transport rules.
Germans ‘may be left in the cold three days a week’, energy titan warns
If German coal plants are closed down, as is required by 2030, the country faces around 100 power cuts of up to 21 hours annually, according to Westenergie, Germany's…
EU CO2 tax may ‘make electricity more expensive and polluting’
A new “green” European Union tax might have some ugly, unintended consequences.
Groundbreaking Dutch CO2 storage-project costs soar
The Dutch Porthos project that aims to capture and store CO2 from industry in empty gasfields beneath the North Sea is proving much more expensive than initially…
Polish MP ‘tear-gassed by police’ at farmers’ protest in Warsaw
Sławomir Mentzen MP, a leader of the Polish right-wing Confederation party who was at a farmers’ protest outside the Polish Parliament, accused the police of…
Dutch double-up on nuclear power
The Dutch Parliament passed a move to build four new nuclear-power plants, doubling the planned two major installations originally envisaged.
Is a commitment to climate orthodoxy a prerequisite to working for the European Central Bank? The Frankfurt institution has tied itself in knots over the true meaning of diversity
There are two key kinds of diversity in Western liberal democracies. One visible. and one invisible.
EU solar panel market showing signs of collapse
EU manufacturers of solar panels are swiftly going out of business, as cheaper Chinese imports outcompete them.
Hard-left eco-arsonists set fire to Tesla’s Berlin gigafactory
Hard-left environmentalists set fire to a high-voltage transformer in Tesla's Berlin-Brandenburg factory, resulting in a major power outage and a forced halt in…